Activities
Minority rights
Ethnic conflict is one of the main sources of large-scale violence in Europe today. The OSCE's approach is to identify - and seek early resolution of - ethnic tensions and to set standards for the rights of persons belonging to minority groups.
A special focus is to advance the political rights of Roma and Sinti in the OSCE area, to prevent acute crisis and to manage crisis in post-conflict areas of South-Eastern Europe as well as to foster and support civil society development among Roma communities in the Balkans.
OSCE Institutions supporting minority rights:
Features
OSCE works with authorities in Skopje to reverse segregation in education
Activities in schools by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities and the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje are helping to fight segregation and improve inter-ethnic communication.
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OSCE High Commissioner brings police and minorities together in Crimea
Defusing tensions between the Crimean Tatars, who have recently returned to their homeland in Ukraine after decades in exile, and the police, is the goal of efforts by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities.
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Providing housing for returnees: OSCE monitors Croatia's efforts
One of the remaining tasks of the OSCE Office in Zagreb is to report on the Croatian Government's efforts to build and reconstruct housing for eligible returnees and internally displaced persons.
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Pipers during a Gorani wedding ceremony in Restelica, South Kosovo, July 2000. (Lubomir Kotek/OSCE)